October 12, 2011

“We do have some payroll limitations. It didn’t work out last year. That was the gamble by going out on a limb payroll-wise and it backfired. We lost money, bottom line,” Williams said. “Are we going to now take the same gamble? The answer to the question is no. We’ve got to take a step back, but that doesn’t mean we’re not going to try to win just the same.”

While Guillen spoke often about knowing his worth and needing more money to continue managing the White Sox (“f— more years—I want more money”), he would not be happy simply with a raise for next season, telling me directly that he needs both additional years and more money.

Joe Frisaro reports Ozzie’s deal with the Marlins is a 4-year, $10 million contract while he was earning $1.8 million a year with the Sox.

September 26, 2011

“Obviously, I’d like to play two or three more years,” said [Mark] Buehrle, speaking in the White Sox dugout before Monday’s series opener with the Blue Jays. “Getting a five-year deal is probably not going to happen. If a one year deal was the only offer, then you got to take it. But I’m looking for a couple more years.

“It’s the first time I’m testing as a free agent, so you kind of go home and wait for the phone to start ringing and go from there. You have a conversation with your agent and your wife and talk it out and see what you want to do.”

During last week’s series in Cleveland, Buehrle told MLB.com that moving to the National League has a certain appeal after working 12 years against the same teams in the American League Central. He also talked about the allure of seeing what another organization is like, with the White Sox being the only one he has ever known.

Numerous decisions remain on the table for the White Sox to make as they move toward 2012, including who will be running their team. With Jake Peavy, John Danks, Gavin Floyd, Zach Stewart, Philip Humber and potentially Chris Sale all under team control as part of the rotation, Buehrle could be deemed expendable.

Of course, Buehrle’s high value extends from the pitcher’s mound to the clubhouse, making him a potential mistake to let go.

“I’d like to think so, but they have a business standpoint,” Buehrle said. “Money they spent this year and we didn’t get to where we should have been and what they have out there for next year, and young guys they want to get in the starting rotation. I’d like to think someone is going to miss me around here.

“At the same time, everything’s got to come to an end. You’ve got to move on, whether it’s this year, two years or five years down the road.”

September 24, 2011

Out for some time with a sprained left shoulder, Carlos Quentin will not play for the White Sox again this season, manager Ozzie Guillen said on Friday.

After spraining the AC joint in his left shoulder while making a diving catch on Aug. 20, Quentin spent time on the 15-day disabled list. He came back for one game on Sept. 12, but hasn’t played since.

“Every time he [tries to play], it’s just sore and it gets worse and worse. I put him out there, and he went backward — maybe 10 more days,” Guillen said. “I don’t know why we have to take that chance. What’s he got to prove? Can he play in the big leagues? Yeah, he don’t have to prove anything.

“But he’s fine, it’s not like there’s something very serious about it. Just sore. He needs time to recover, and I don’t think we gave him enough time to do it.”

Who will be managing the White Sox next season? We tossed that question at a baseball source who is tight with team chairman Jerry Reinsdorf, and got this succinct reply: “Ozzie Guillen.”

The same source also said, with zero equivocation, that if the Marlins think they can wait this out and then scoop Guillen off the unemployment line this winter, they’d better re-think. Unless the folks in Florida want to trade a big-time player to the South Side, the source said, the White Sox won’t make any move to resolve Guillen’s future until after the Marlins have hired a manager.

Seems like the Sox want to make others think Guillen isn’t going anywhere so they have more leverage in any negotiations that take place. I’m not confident it will work. There is also this nugget:

White Sox officials have been telling people in the game they need to cut payroll next year after going over budget this season. And they also have five starters under contract for next year, even without Buehrle.

So an executive of one team who spoke with the White Sox brass says the only way he sees them making room for Buehrle is if he’s willing to “be creative” about his next contract. AND the club would have to be able to trade one of its current starters — most likely Gavin Floyd. Can all that happen? Of course. But it’s still a lot of hoops for Buehrle and his team to jump through.

I think Buehrle will be “creative.” Maybe a 2-3 year offer would be enough. Sign him Jerry!

Almost mirror images, right? [Mark] Buehrle is right on his career averages this season and he does this practically every single season, like clockwork. He is Jeff Suppan-esque in his consistency except he doesn’t stink. [Mark] Buehrle has tallied right around 46 WAR over 12 seasons and almost always produces 3.5-4.5 per season. Even his worst season was still league average by our standards here. …

Sign him Jerry! 2/25 may be enough. It doesn’t seem like Mark wants more years.

September 10, 2011

White Sox pitching Don Cooper and Peavy spoke to MLB.com about that decision on Saturday.

“Jake right now is shut down,” said Cooper of the right-handed starter. “The things we are looking at right now are, one, we want to win as many games as we can. Two, we want to keep everybody strong and healthy and continue to finish this season strong.”

“With the way we are playing and with how it looks for us winning, and just where we are at in the season, they made a decision to start to rest and the recovery in the offseason period and try to get strong for next year,” Peavy said.

The White Sox placed catcher A.J. Pierzynski on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday with a fractured left wrist and purchased the contract of catcher Donny Lucy from Triple-A Charlotte.

This marked Pierzynski’s first career trip to the disabled list. The 34-year-old catcher, whose placement on the DL was retroactive to Saturday, suffered the injury Friday against Kansas City, when he was hit by a Bruce Chen pitch in the third inning.

[T]he Marlins made two moves that shocked the clubhouse Saturday night: They optioned left fielder Logan Morrison to the minors and released veteran infielder Wes Helms. Morrison said he was stunned by the news and suggested his demotion and Helms’ release had something to do with an off-field incident on which he refused to elaborate. “I’m heartbroken and I’m disappointed,’ Morrison said, his voice shaking. “I asked for an explanation and the one I got was I was hitting .240 I don’t know if that makes any sense to me or to you guys but. All I know is I go out and I give everything for this team. I play hurt, I play through injury and this is how you get treated. It doesn’t seem very fair or right to me.’ Morrison, who is batting .249 with 17 homers and 60 RBI, has been outspoken about moves the front office has made. Both he and Helms have been critical about teammate Hanley Ramirez …

Before the game, Morrison spent a good half hour sitting in the dugout talking to General Manager Mike Hill while the Giants took batting practice. “Right now I just feel resentment and anger,’ Morrison said after the game. “Stand up for what’s right and this happens.’ …

One team source believes the team the team is sending a message, “To me it’s a lesson, concentrate on the game and stop trying to be so funny.”

Logan Morrison plans to consult the player’s union to see if he has any grounds for a grievance against the Marlins for optioning him late Saturday to Class AAA New Orleans.

“We are going to, with absolute certainty, explore this and contact the union and make sure Logan’s rights are protected,’’ said Fred Wray, Morrison’s agent. “It doesn’t seem like everything adds up here.’’

But the fact that LoMo is upset enough to consider the action, and not comfortable enough to settle matters behind closed doors, tells you something about the crumbling relationship between player and management.

July 21, 2011

Even now, [Mark] Buehrle isn’t certain he’s returning for the 2012 season. He had in the past hinted at retiring after this year, though he’s more concerned with being around his St. Louis-area home when his child, Braden, who turns 4 this week, goes to kindergarten. At most, Buehrle said, that means he’ll pitch for two more years.

“Once Braden starts school, I’ll be done 100 percent,” he said. “Once that happens, you can bet anything and everything I’ll be done.”

June 15, 2011

After rebounding from an eight-game losing streak with two consecutive victories, left-hander John Danks believes he also has regained the feel for his signature cut fastball after experimenting. “I play with grips a lot,” said Danks, who will make his next start Saturday night in Arizona against Zach Duke. “My last game (a 3-2 triumph over the A’s on Saturday), I finally had a good one and was encouraged. Whenever I’m throwing a good one, I’m throwing it out front. That makes sense. I tend to not get on top of it and get around it and it doesn’t do anything for me. My focus is throwing it out front.”

Danks said he continues to employ the grip batting practice pitcher Kevin Hickey taught him. When the pitch is effective, it breaks into right-handed hitters. “I will continue to work on other grips in case I lose it in a game so I have something to fall back on,” Danks said. During his losing streak, Danks said he experimented by trying Mark Buehrle’s grip and he also spoke with bullpen coach Juan Nieves. But with Hickey’s grip, “the way I throw it, it feels better in my hand,” Danks said. “I don’t know why.”

Pitch classifications provided by the Gameday Algorithm and may be inaccurate.Pitch Type LWTS correspond to how many runs were likely to score on a particular pitch based on average run expectancy when each pitch was thrown and what happened as a result. Negative scores indicate more effective pitches.Time to Plate is the time, in seconds, that it takes an average pitch of this type to reach the plate. This is strongly correlated with velocity, but also factors in movement.

Mark Buerhle: I just get the sign from the catcher and try to make the best pitch I can, to the best location. I’ve never been a guy who studies film or goes over scouting reports. I go with my catcher, and Coop [pitching coach Don Cooper] usually sits down with us and goes over the game plan beforehand. For the most part, I figure that the less that’s on my mind when I’m out there — if I’m not thinking about, and worrying about, what to throw to guys — the better off I’m going to be.

I have four pitches that I have confidence in, and I’ll throw almost all of them in any count, in any situation. I feel that if I make a quality pitch, sometimes it’s going to be a hit, but a lot of times I’m going to get an out. Who’s to say…if I’m thinking of throwing a fastball to a certain guy, and A.J. [Pierzynski] calls for a changeup, why am I right over him? I just take it as, “Hey, whichever pitch you throw down, I’ll try to throw it to the best location, the best spot, and see what happens.”

The White Sox announced their starting pitchers for the upcoming home series against the Tigers and Mariners, and the alignment shows their six-man rotation lives on.

Mark Buehrle opens the three-game weekend set at U.S. Cellular Field on Friday against the Tigers, followed by Edwin Jackson and Jake Peavy. John Danks gets the call Monday against the Mariners, with manager Ozzie Guillen simply wanting to give a healthy Danks the extra day of rest behind Peavy, followed by Philip Humber and Gavin Floyd.Humber has made the White Sox decision to move away from the six-man a difficult one. The right-hander has more recent relief experience, but he also has been the team’s most consistent starter.

Guillen indicated during Wednesday’s pregame interview session at Fenway Park how the six-man rotation would stick at least one more turn. But in that same talk with reporters, Guillen mentioned how the six-man rotation could last through the All-Star break.

“Well, it’s kind of funny, after the All-Star break, we have a lot of days — maybe 12 days with guys without pitching. Then it changes a little bit,” Guillen said. “Before the All-Star break, I want those guys to catch up and breathe for the long stretch.

“Now we have that six-man [rotation], then boom, we go into the All-Star break and we have to figure out to go five or six. In the beginning, we should go with five, because some guys will be spending 10 days without pitching. Obviously they’ll be in the bullpen and throwing on the side and stuff, but it’s not the same.”